A good rheumatologist is not how well you diagnose a rheumatological condition but how well you disprove one.

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things,[7] not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win" JFK

Teleconsultation

Social Media

Categories

Archives

Author: Administrator

This is my second year in presenting at this business meeting highlighting the work done in the digital healthcare space.

My role was to bring the audience back to the humanity of medicine. With the excitement of digitisation in healthcare we often forget that the patient doctor relationship is sacred and personal to the patient especially. Until we reach the level of sophistication in AI, humans will be at the fore front of this encounter.

Aiding this encounter is important as we push for digitisation to ensure that the doctor patient communication is unhindered by the computerisation within the consultation room. The workload and the information that a doctor needs to process has exponentially increased. This often drowns out the voice of the patient as the doctor grapples with the myriad of tasks that is now expected of him/ her.

Digital technology is here to stay and there is certainly no turning back. Understanding its potential and executing it perfectly to highlight its strengths is the key message. From connectedness by remote monitoring to targeted patient education, the power of the current digital world is undeniable.

I will be presenting on this topic again at the upcoming Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia conference this end of July. Facebook link to the conference

No. This time it’s not me. However the stress is no less than if it was mine. It’s beyond my control. It’s only just a small mathematics test. I’m beginning to wonder how it would be if it was a much bigger or higher stake examination.

The saga involving Martin Skreli unearthed some dark truths about the pharmaceutical industry. Skreli, as the then CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, increased the price of an existing antiparasitic medication by 5,556% and there was nothing anybody could do about it but only to hate him.

However, it did expose the lack of drug pricing regulations in the pharmaceutical industry. Till today, no one has any idea how drug prices are decided upon. Justifications for pricing a medication more steeply ranges from the high cost of research to manufacturing. Hence, many newer treatments are placed out of reach for the average Joe without an insurance plan.

Science and technology has allowed us to now develop targeted treatments for many diseases. Picking off a sole target responsible for the causation of disease, can not only provide superior results versus conventional treatments, but with less side effects. Unfortunately many of these ‘smarter’ drugs are expensive and hence unavailable in many parts of the world.

For developing countries, the average household income is hardly sufficient to survive the rising cost of living. The price of some medications can be more than the monthly income of most households. Pricing based on the gross domestic product (GDP) or the gross national income (GNI) of a country is hardly a consolation as it is not reflective of the average disposable income of a family. Governments struggle to cope with escalating drug prices as it creates a significant constraint on their budgets.

Keeping innovative and superior treatments out of reach to those that need them the most is a betrayal to Mankind. As profits for pharmaceutical companies sore annually, patients are left poorer and in dire straits. Something must be done to justify drug prices in a more transparent manner. It can literally be a matter of life and death.

In rheumatoid arthritis for example, a new class of medications called “biologics” has revolutionised the treatment of this once debilitating disease. Preventing irreversible joint damage and relieving debilitating pain is now an achievable dream for these patients. Or so we may think.

Unfortunately, “biologics” are priced so steeply that it keeps it out of the hands of the majority of patients. Moreover, they are needed on a long term basis. Imagine spending all your savings on a medication that is suppose to make one’s life better. As patients reach deep into their pockets to solve their physical pain, another equally paralysing menace emerges. I call it the ‘financial pain’. Make no mistake of its equally destructive force.

So we spend so much money thinking that we are making a difference to the lives of patients, only to realise all we did was to shift the dust.

This conundrum raises the question of what constitutes an advancement in Medicine. A true advancement is when we can develop an innovative treatment that can be enjoyed by all of Mankind. It is not to enrich certain quarters but is to be shared by all that inhabit this little planet.

Pedestrian crossings in Malaysia is like an invisible entity on Malaysian roads. Basically what was thought in driving schools are thrown out the window as many drivers aren’t really stopping when there are pedestrians wanting to cross a road.

So the apathy of Malaysian drivers is the bane of pedestrians in this country. Dashing across the road even at the pedestrian crossing is expected.

But can we blame Malaysian drivers for this? Here are a few possible reasons to defend this perceived ineptitude in driving.

1. Pedestrians cross everywhere, not just at pedestrian crossings
2. Placement of pedestrian crossings can sometimes be dangerous. For example, around a bend.
3. Not clearly demarcated. Faded signs and paint on the road can make this invisible to the driver especially in low light situations.

It’s time we inject some respect when it comes to pedestrian crossings.